Pieces of Autumn
by ivorypanther
Summary: The start of Harry's seventh year is filled with an incredible loss, and he finds that he doesn't have the whole truth regarding Dumbledore. Are things as they seem, or is there more to Snape's betrayal than meets the eye? Our story starts at Kings cross


Okey Doke, this is my first Harry Potter fic on fan so I'm guessing it might suck. Today I feel like being angsty on a Harry Potter level, as in not too angsty though, so, here it goes…

**Hermione's Decision**

**Prologue **

The moment the Hogwarts express had reached the platform at Kings cross, Harry's relatively noisy cabin grew still, and welcomed a mandatory and almost reverent silence. This was the last summer that they would be a normal group of friends laughing about their own petty troubles, the last time that loony Luna would sit absentmindedly with her swirled glasses and stare, as if hypnotized at her new edition of the Quibbler, or her father's slightly strange magazine.

Harry had actually come to grow quite fond of Luna, and he really hated to see her go like this. Then there was the almost as strange Neville Longbottom, on a constant crusade to find his missing toad. It still made him smile that he had never managed to catch him, the arrogant frog always slipping in between his fingers.

Harry knew perfectly well that they might not live to survive the fall of the dark empire that had risen so swiftly above everybody's heads that they couldn't stop it before it caused all of the pain it had done, the lives it had ruined. Luna was quirky, and Neville was cowardly, traits that might be considered a small and barely noticeable flaw in a normally functioning wizarding world, but this wasn't one, it had slowly become a fight for life.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a gruff voice, "'Arry, it's your stop." That seemed to spell out the last days of his career at Hogwarts, and ironically, mirrored his first. He slowly rose, and started the long journey out of the Hogwarts express.

"Oh Harry, this is so exciting, it must be such a wonderful experience to live in the muggle world, isn't it wonderful Ron?" Ron looked slightly baffled at the mention of his name, "umm, yeah, I guess…" He then promptly burrowed his head back into his copy of _Quiddich through the Ages. _

"You know Harry, it must be AWFULLY exciting to live with people like the Dursleys, and you know they are SUCH nice people, letting us stay with you and all." Hermione hadn't shut up ever since they had gotten on the bus, attempting to spawn friendly conversation, with the ever-disapproving Vernon Dursley.

Harry smiled, remembering Hermione's long, and nagging protest, that had started the moment they stepped foot off of the train… _Hermione walked briskly down the train steps to the dark and busy subway, wearing a purple shirt with a grey jacket. "Well Harry, I hope your house is nice, I'm not used to staying in trash pits. Ron's eyes widened in disbelief, _

_"YOU'RE staying with the Dursleys?" This is something Harry had convineniently forgotten to tell Ron, not wanting their last journey on the Hogwarts express to be filled with Ron's blaring protests. Hermione slowed and turned around. "Yes… do you have a problem with that Ronald?" Ron started to laugh, gasping for air, and only gaining a weird look shot by Lavender._

_ "Oh blimey, be sure you leave me something good on your will." Hermione's look of determination was replaced by a quizzical one, "Why?" Ron looked like his head was about to explode, "they'll tear you apart!" Ron fell on the ground, not rolling with laughter, and only stopped when Mc Gonagall decided to stop it._

_ "Ron!" Ron looked up, and there stood his mother, tapping the heel of her shoe. "If this is another one of those disfigurement hexes that Fred and George sell, then I'm not laughing." _

After Mrs. Weasley had heard that Hermione was staying with the Dursleys, she had decided it'd be good for Ron to stay with them too. "After all, it's only for A COUPLE of weeks." Ron came along reluctantly, but in the future, he might have begged to come along, in fact, and he might have dragged his mom with him if he had known what would come of that summer.

SSSSSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOO

Okay, so maybe I'm not feeling THAT angsty today, but I've decided I'm gonna take my time and write this like a REAL Harry Potter book. J.K. Rowling doesn't make them all that depressing at the beginnings. It WILL get depressing. Oh yeah... I have plans for this story MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA


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